Tyn Connel bunkhouse weekend

Photos show 'Last cup of tea before the off' and 'General view of the valley looking West'





Well - a wonderful bunkhouse with excellent facilities but weather of a mixed nature (from torrential downpour to bright sunshine)!

Thomas and I spend a variously wet and dry Saturday tramping over a variety of both challenging and beautiful terrain. As he said to me "People don't do this usually do they?!" Perhaps they should! The 20km route took in a good variety of upland and lowland walking and the New Inn pub in the village of Llandewi Brefi is a must for the hungry traveler with great food and a friendly (predominantly Welsh speaking) bunch of locals! I'd recommend it!

Getting the 4x4 over the rough track from Tyn Connel to the road to the East was a challenge so thanks to the helpful electric pump provided by the local 4x4 club who turned up in the rain just when they were needed most!

Christian spent a good and very chilled weekend reading and with his camera - no phones, no computers and just lots of wild place made even this insomniatic young man sleep!

Planning for the weekend enters the final stages now. Everything is packed into the car and the lads briefed on food and kit they need. The weekend looks like a mixed one from the isometric maps issued by the Met Office at lunchtime today. 

It's a very early start tomorrow morning to get onto the hills without, hopefully, getting caught on the M4 in bank holiday traffic. The base for the, mainly Sunday, big walk, is Tyn Connel Bunkhouse inland from Llanddewi-Brefi in the Southern Cambrian Mountains. I've one lad wanting to spend a 'chilled' weekend with his tripod and high definition digital camera, whilst the other will be spending the time reviewing the area for future overnight wild camping and interesting routes for a fuller exploration of this relatively unused part of Wales. 

Should be good!

More leading in the hills

It looks like a busy schedule at work is going to me supplemented by a busy one in the hills over the next two months.

Following a 'relaxing' week on a narrow boat on the Oxfordshire canal last week which was down in the diary as 'holiday with family', I will now be taking two people out in the Central Welsh hills on August Bank Holiday weekend. Based at the Ty Cornell bunkhouse (in the Southern section of the Cambrian Mountains) we will be spending two days working on navigation and gps skills over the steep sided and river cut moorlands of this lovely part of Wales which seems to get hardly any visitors. Well worth a visit if you are looking for remote mountain biking and walking.

September includes acting as one of the leaders on tis year's Ice Warrior expeditions summer camp craft course in Snowdonia. The week long course is based around the Plas y Brenin mountain centre and will take in most of the hills and mountains of Snowdonia - including some of the little known parts of the range to trial night navigation and remote camping.

More on this in due course!

Training for Ice Warrior Arctic expeditions continues

Over the weekend of 4th - 6th July 2008 I was out again acting as leader on the selection weekend for Ice Warrior. A group of hopefuls were put through their paces in the hills of mid Wales. This exercise quickly sorts out those who have the right attitude to opperate and survive in the outdoors and those who don't. The whole process is broadly self selecting at the end of the day. You know if it's for you pretty quickly!

Speaking engagements

I am free for a limited number of speaking engagements during the year.

Topics include:

'An Arctic Journey' the story of the 2006 Geomagnetic North Pole expedition (with permission from Ice Warrior Expeditions Ltd)

'Managing risk - lessons from the Arctic and the outdoors'

'Leadership and management - lessons from the Arctic and the outdoors'

I am also available for training and guiding in the UK for individuals and small groups. I am a member of the Moutain Leader Training Assoiation (MLTA) and a qualified Walking Group Leader under the British Mountaineering Council and MLTA

First blog of a new life

I have never been one for this kind of new fangled blogging stuff but readers beware - I am on line and on the case. I have no doubt that blogs will be few and far between but in the interests of the many who are prevailing on the one to talk about the few.......... here is the world according to Jon Geldart...